


Take Me Home

by quarterleigh



Series: Bingo Fest [5]
Category: Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Non-Famous, Fluff, M/M, Masturbation, but also alternate universe - famous
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-23
Updated: 2018-10-23
Packaged: 2019-08-06 16:07:53
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,542
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16390901
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/quarterleigh/pseuds/quarterleigh
Summary: "Dan is standing alone in a familiar flat and wondering if he might still be a little drunk and delirious from the night before.Surely this place is just very similar to… it can’t actually be…"Dan is a university student who housesits to make some extra money. Phil is a famous youtuber who has to leave his dog behind while he's on tour.





	Take Me Home

**Author's Note:**

> I really, really thought I'd be done with the bingo fest after I finished my line, but the 'housesitting' prompt was calling to me. #sorrynotsorry?

Dan is standing alone in a familiar flat and wondering if he might still be a little drunk and delirious from the night before. _Surely this place is just very similar to… it can’t actually be…_ A small dog pads into the room, and sits on the floor in front of him, whining softly. _Lots of people in London have corgis._

He walks to where his gut is telling him the bedroom is, and opens the door to see a green and blue checkered duvet made up neatly on a queen bed. _This is AmazingPhil’s fucking flat._

.

House sitting is easy. Pop into a strangers house, water some plants, maybe walk a dog. Bring in the mail. It’s a quick way for him to earn extra money for school while still avoiding all human contact. He’s good at it too- he’s not a snoop, he doesn’t hang around people’s homes longer than he needs to. He’s “highly recommended” on the app he uses to get jobs. _Daniel is like a helpful ghost,_ one reviewer had said. _I wouldn’t have known he had ever been there if my mail hadn’t been stacked neatly on my kitchen counter, as asked._  
  
Dan’s been doing this for months now. He’s been in and out of dozens of homes, played with a healthy amount of dogs. Most homeowners only need him for a week or so at a time, but the beginning of summer meant longer holidays and when a job had come in for three months straight, he had accepted without a second thought.  
  
There had been minimal instructions- walk and feed the dog twice a day, some plant care, where to find the key, where to stick the mail. _I’m renting so no loud parties haha._ It was rare to be hired by a renter, particularly one who was going to be gone for so long, and Dan couldn’t help a twinge of curiosity as to what this person's circumstances were.

And then he went inside.

.

There’s a YouTube Play button hanging on the wall in Phil’s office. Dan tries to ignore it as he waters the fig tree in the corner. He’s so familiar with this room- Phil films his gaming videos here- but actually being inside of it is like being in a dream where everything is slightly off. The angles are different, the room is smaller than he had thought but the ceiling is higher. There’s a pile of books stacked up high behind the computer that Phil must use as a tripod.

_Oh god. Phil. Oh god oh god oh god._ Dan has always prided himself on not being a creep. It would be so easy to rifle through people's things, to invade their space when he’s already been invited in and left to his own devices. But this is _Phil Lester’s_ _flat_. He knows when Phil moved here because he watched the whole thing on YouTube. He knows that Phil wanted a smaller place but decided on this one so that he could have a guest bedroom separate from his office because he watched Phil talk about it on a liveshow. He knows that if he were to open the kitchen cupboards he’d find very few drinking glasses but at least twenty novelty mugs. He knows that the corgi he just fed and walked is named Loki and likes cheese more than his owner. He knows all of this, and he still wants to know more.

_There’s nothing you could find out that wouldn’t make you feel like a piece of shit for invading his privacy. Focus. Do your job and then get the fuck out._  
                                                                                                                                              .

After he brings in the mail and locks the door behind himself, Dan sits on a nearby bench and pulls out his phone. He pulls up Phil’s client profile and sends him a message with shaky thumbs.

**Daniel H**  
_Hi there. My name is Dan and I’m the house sitter you hired. I have to tell you, I actually watch your YouTube channel. I promise I’m not a creep, but I totally understand if you want to switch sitters. I just felt weird not letting you know that I’m actually a subscriber, I know you value your privacy a lot._

  Dan lays his phone face down on his thigh and leans back, closing his eyes and breathing hard. He deserves a fucking knighthood for this. His phone buzzes.

**Philip L**  
_Oh haha how interesting! Are you still there?_

  Dan gives it a couple of seconds before answering. Phil needs to know he’s a subscriber but he sure doesn’t need to know just how deep that obsession runs.

**Daniel H**  
_No, I watered your plants and got your mail and then left._

**Philip L**  
_Okay thank you!_

  Dan waits for another message to come through, but nothing happens. His eyebrows furrow at the screen.

**Daniel H**  
_Sorry- I don’t mean to bother you, but just to clarify- do you still want me house sitting for you? I can recommend some other sitters in the area._

**Philip L**  
_No, you’re fine! Thanks!_

Dan breathes out through his mouth, stomach twisting so violently that he wonders if he’s on the edge of a panic attack. Okay then, he thinks, running his hand over the pocket where he’d stowed Phil’s spare key. I guess I’ll be back in eight hours.

.

The next few days are as unremarkable as they could be considering the circumstances. Dan brings in Phil’s mail, takes care of Loki, waters the plants that need watering, and gets out. He convinces himself that Phil has security cameras set up, so he doesn’t give in to any temptations to sit at his desk or smell his pillows. He doesn’t even use Phil’s bathroom, despite the flat being a forty-five minute journey across town. He’s never inside for more than ten minutes at a time.

On the fourth day, Phil sends him a message.

**Philip L**  
_Hi dan! How are things? is my dog doing okay?_

**Daniel H**  
_Hi Phil! Yes, Loki’s been great! He’s always excited to see me now that he knows I’m going to be giving him food. Haha. How is your tour going?_

Dan cringes as he hits send. Maybe he’s being overfamiliar.

**Philip L**  
_Ha, sounds about right. The tour is great, thanks for asking! I miss Loki though :( at least he’s not missing me too much haha_

**Daniel H**  
_No, he misses you for sure. When I stopped by last night he was wearing one of your shirts and eating raw cookie dough._

**Philip L**  
_lol oh nooo. I didn’t mean to break his heart_

**Daniel H**  
_too late. I think I heard him listening to some pre-reputation Taylor Swift as I was leaving_

**Philip L**  
_:( :( please give him hugs from me_

**Daniel H**  
_You say that as if it’s possible for me to walk a dog without giving it cuddles_

**Philip L**  
_haha_

.

They start to talk so often that Dan feels like less of a fanboy and more of a friend. Phil tells him that he has food in the fridge that’s going to expire before he gets back, and begs Dan to please start making himself lunch and dinner. He begins to spend more and more time at Phil’s flat, playing with Loki, watching the dvds that Phil tells him he needs to see. He does his summer reading on the floor in Phil’s lounge.

Whenever Phil uploads a new video, Dan watches it on Phil’s Apple TV. It doesn’t even feel surreal anymore.

He continues to avoid Phil’s bedroom.

.

They start exchanging pictures. Dan sends him a picture of Loki, Phil responds with a pouting selfie. Phil sends him a picture of his hotel breakfast spread and Dan responds with a picture of his chicken wrap.

He doesn’t realise when he sends Phil the first picture of his face. He had forgotten that Phil doesn’t really know him, doesn’t even know what he looks like. So when he sends a goofy selfie in response to one of Phil’s bad jokes, it takes him a minute to figure out why Phil doesn’t immediately answer back.

Ten minutes later he receives a single heart emoji.

.

  
**Philip L**  
_do you live on campus during the school year?_

**Daniel H**  
_No :/ I live at home._

**Philip L**  
_Is it far?_

**Daniel H**  
_From yours? About forty five mins. From school, about an hour._

**Philip L**  
_That’s a lot of commuting_

**Daniel H**  
_Yeah. Loads of people do it though, this is London._

**Philip L**  
_Still. You’re welcome to sleep at my place sometimes if you’re ever too tired to go all the way back home._

**Daniel H**  
_Wait, really?_

**Philip L**  
_Sure. I mean I’m paying the rent for it, someone ought to be sleeping there_

**Daniel H**  
_Are you sure?_

**Philip L**  
_Wouldn’t offer if I wasn’t. Seriously, it would make me feel better about leaving Loki for so long if I knew he had some company overnight every once and a while._

**Daniel H**  
_Okay_

.

He sleeps in Phil’s bed the very next night. He wasn’t planning on it, didn’t even bring a change of clothes. But when the time comes to get back on the bus and go home to his parents he can’t bring himself to do it. He sends a picture of Loki curled up on the sofa to Phil and asks if the offer still stands.

**Philip L**  
_I didn’t mean on the couch! You can sleep in my bed, Dan_

**Daniel H**  
_Are you ACTUALLY SURE though bc I 100% will_

**Philip L**  
_Omg yes I’m sure. Lol. I trust you._

.

  
He’s lying flat on his stomach, face buried in Phil’s pillow when he starts to lose his mind. He doesn’t recognize the cologne that Phil must obviously wear, but the scent is overwhelming- something spicy and woody and masculine. It’s heaven. The bed is soft and warm, and Dan’s hips are pressing down, down, down.

He thinks of Phil’s jawline, of his shoulders. He imagines the soft patch of skin beneath Phil’s belly button, imagines pressing his face there, kissing Phil, teasing him. He imagines hooking his chin over Phil’s shoulder, pressing into him from behind, holding him upright at the waist. He imagines being underneath him, pinned down with his legs in the air. His mind is moving fast, cycling through one fantasy after another. Phil’s mouth, Phil’s fingers, Phil’s cock.

When he comes, he’s grinding down into the bedsheets, and moaning into Phil’s name into his pillow. There’s a flash of shame, and then he’s asleep.

.

The shame doesn’t last. He washes Phil’s sheets, makes the bed, and does it again the next night. Phil continues encouraging him to stay, to keep living there like it’s his own flat. He tells Dan to keep some clothes and a toothbrush there.

.  
  
**Philip L**  
_It makes me feel good to know you’re there._

**Daniel H**  
_I like being here._

.

On a bright Tuesday afternoon, Phil sends him two pictures in a row. They’re both posed shots of him with mountains in the background. In one photo, he’s looking straight to camera, and in the other he’s looking up and to the right, but they both look like he’s stepped out of a topman advert.

**Philip L**  
_help me! Which picture do I post?_

**Daniel H**  
_Uhhhhhhh_

**Philip L**  
_Come on, this is a crisis. Which one is better?_

Dan tells him to post the picture where he’s looking away from the camera, but he saves the other for himself. His own tiny version of Phil that doesn’t belong to anyone else.

Afterwards, they start sending each other more serious pictures. _Should I post this?_ They’ll ask, sending a picture that looks meticulously posed and filtered.

Despite the answer always being ‘yes, post it, looks great’, none of the pictures ever make it to social media.

.

Dan has Phil’s liveshow on in the background while he’s cooking dinner, and nearly jumps out of his skin when he hears his name.

“Who’s watching Loki? Uh, I’ve got a friend called Dan watching him for me.” Dan feels the tips of his ears burn red. He’s mostly reconciled _AmazingPhil_ with _Phil, the guy who he can’t stop talking to,_ but sometimes it still hits him strangely. “Everyone in the chat is like, ‘we thought you didn’t have any friends!’” Phil laughs. “I do have friends! He’s uh, really great.”

There’s a look on Phil’s face like he’s regretting bringing this up. Dan pulls the hood of his sweatshirt down over his face and groans. He should probably turn this off.

“Uh, I met him… like, not that long ago actually. But, yeah. We just like, clicked, I guess. I don’t know. Anyway. Moving on.” Phil goes on to talk about his hotel and the weird art on the walls, but Dan’s flush remains.

.

The end of summer creeps up on Dan. He starts getting emails from his university, Phil starts talking about ‘the end of tour’ more and more. Dan doesn’t know what’s going to happen when he gets back. He knows what he hopes will happen- but they live far apart and they’ve never even talked on the phone. They only ever communicate through the app, which can’t be a good sign. He starts to think that Phil will forget about him quickly. _Maybe he only talks to me so much because he wants to check up on his dog. He won’t need me when he gets back._

.

**Daniel H**  
_So do you want me to leave your key under the mat?_

**Philip L**  
_I think it’d be better if I got it from you in person. Do you mind?_

**Daniel H**  
_no, I don’t mind. I’ll be here._

.

Dan’s things are packed in a bag at the door, and he’s pacing back and forth. Loki is following him around, wagging his tail. Dan crouches down to scratch him behind the ears. “Yeah, you excited buddy? Phil’s almost home! Your-“ The door swings open in front of them. “-daddy’s back soon.”

“Oh! Hi, Dan!”

.

Phil is whirlwind of nervous energy. He gives Dan a hug so quickly that he barely has time to feel it before he’s back out the door, paying his driver and bringing his luggage in.

“So, has the flat been okay? It’s still standing, I see,” Phil laughs awkwardly.

“Uh, yeah. Yeah, no, everything’s fine. Pretty sure I’ve left it cleaner than I found it, actually.”

“Yikes.”

“Oh no, I don’t mean it like that,” Dan says.

“No, I know. I always understand you.”

“Yeah, you do.”

.

Dan doesn’t leave. Phil has a million stories from tour and he wants to tell them all. They order dominos and eat on the floor. The awkwardness passes quickly, and Dan thinks he could talk to Phil forever.

When it gets late, Dan gets up to grab his things and Phil pulls him into a hug- a real one, an embrace. “Do you want to stay one more night?” He asks, softly.

Dan moves to look Phil in the eyes and tilts his head down so that their foreheads press together. “Yes, please.”

“Can I kiss you?”

“Yes,” Dan smiles, “please.”

.

Dan doesn’t leave.

**Author's Note:**

> hope you enjoyed! you can reblog [here](https://floralleigh.tumblr.com/post/179363456461/take-me-home) if that's a thing you want to do. <3


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